


Together

by titaniumsansa



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Brienne of Tarth is the Best, Female Friendship, Gen, Happy Unbirthday, I blame sunkelles, Not Canon Compliant, Rescue, happy early birthday sunkelles, this is a polished up draft from 2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:15:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23562904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/titaniumsansa/pseuds/titaniumsansa
Summary: Brienne finds Sansa Stark at a bar in the Vale. She keeps her promise to Catelyn Stark.
Relationships: Sansa Stark & Brienne of Tarth
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sunkelles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunkelles/gifts).



> I do not own anything.  
> I am aware I am 6 days early but  
> HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY SUNKELLES!  
> I know you love these two so I thought I'd polish up this old draft for you and give writing this dynamic you love so much a shot!

“Lady Sansa?” She can’t believe it, there’s a girl who looks like--  
“Yes?” The answer gets her a scowl from Littlefinger. He scowls at Sansa and then Brienne. The bar is crowded enough that no one's watching them, let alone the underaged girl.

  
“Can you show me where the bathrooms are?” She asks, biting her lip.  
“I’ll show you, they’re tricky to locate,” Brienne says, wondering if it's an excuse or genuine. Littlefinger moves to stand and Sansa shakes her head with a small smile. He shifts in his seat and looks at Brienne. The women are strangers to each other.  
“I’ll only be a moment.” She promises. It’s a lie, and it’s almost easy.

  
He nods, trusting her somehow. She walks almost silently with the older woman, close to the other side of the building. Past patrons deep in their cups despite the daylight outside and uninterested staff.  
“I know you guarded Lord Renly.” Sansa begins quietly. Brienne opens her mouth. It shuts.  
“And I know he is now dead, regardless of fault or not. My mother sent you with Jaime Lannister before she died.”

  
Brienne opens her mouth again. Some sports channel is blaring in the background, getting loud comments from a booth they pass.

  
“It’s not your fault. I need to find Arya, and Bran, and Rickon, I need to get Winterfell back--I have a lot to do. Will you help me?” Sansa asks, and she wonders if Brienne is there to apologize or help. She wonders if she’s overstepped. The dark wood and the sticky floors don't endear either of them to this place that reeks of grease and alcohol.

  
“Yes,” Brienne says as they reach the bathroom doors. They're just out of the way of blocking the entrance to either bathroom, but a few feet a way is a door to the parking lot.  
“Then help me get away from him. Please.” Sansa pleads. Brienne pulls her phone from her pocket before glancing at it. She puts the phone in her pocket.  
“This door will take us out. You and I need to explain things further, but is there anything you need to tell me, right now?”  
“I don't have anything I need to grab, please just get me out of here," Sansa whispers. Brienne has her out the door first, pointing to her gray SUV. The parking lot is gravel and Sansa spots Baelish's car a good while away. 

  
"That's mine, get in, backseat," Brienne instructs, and Sansa sprints to the car.  
It's a moment of nerves before the car finally starts and they peel out of the parking lot. Sansa wisely keeps her head down.  
After a few minutes of being on the highway with no sign of anyone following them, Brienne turns on the radio. Quiet, but she could use a bit of background noise. Sansa has brown hair now but she still looks so much like her mother. Only Baelish knows she has that now, but everyone else will look for red hair. No one will give Sansa another look.  
"Where are we going?" Sansa wonders.

  
"A safe house. I don't know where your siblings are. It might take us some time to find them, and we have too many people looking for us to stay out searching for them without a plan," Brienne tells her. A knight in shining armor. Except she can tell by the way Brienne's shirt sits that she's wearing a kevlar vest, no one wears armor anymore.  
"Thank you," Sansa says. It's the first time in a long time she's allowed to just cry, so she lets a few tears fall. Brienne wants to say something reassuring about how she wouldn't have left Sansa there alone without the word she gave to Catelyn Stark, that anyone could have seen something was wrong with her and Baelish, but none of them come out. Sansa Stark has many things to cry about and Brienne doesn't know which one is the cause of the sniffling she hears.

  
Brienne keeps an eye on the cars passing by as the road stretches out in front of them. Sedans and truckers pass by. No one stays behind them either.  
"Tell me about my mother. Tell me about Lord Renly. I know you were with them, and there were accusations. But you have a reputation for being loyal and true. I want to hear about it," Sansa requests. It's one of the easiest things to ask for. Brienne sighs as she thinks of where to begin.  
Lord Renly and his kindness, the steel in Lady Stark, and the grief she carries with her. The miles of driving. The feelings for Jaime Lannister that have wrapped around her heart like cruel vines, twisting, and painful.  
It could be easy to deny Sansa this and put it on the shelf for another time. Still, Brienne opens her healing wounds to help the girl in her backseat as she begins to speak about the past.

* * *

  
The sun dips low as she finally begins to count the exits. Her story is finished. Sansa seems to be a girl comfortable with silences. It can't be much worse than listening to the horrible things she undoubtedly heard in King's Landing.   
"I didn't kill Joffrey. For the record. I know they're all saying it and that they want my head for it. But I swear to you, I didn't. I didn't kill anyone," Sansa says suddenly. Brienne raises an eyebrow unseen, keeping her eyes on the road. A car merges behind her.

  
"I never believed it," Brienne assures her.  
"Just like that?" Sansa wonders.  
"Just like that. Your mother told me about you and your siblings. Your gentle nature. I know you didn't. I'm not sure who did poison him, but I doubt you would have even been able to attain anything like that," Brienne reasons. Sansa relaxes into her seat.

The entire trip, she's kept her face away from the windows, just in case. She thinks of Jeyne and how their hair matches now. After everything it's so unlikely that they can save her siblings and that she'll ever see Jeyne again but she has to try. Not knowing will kill her much more painfully than a bullet, she can't leave the ones she loves behind for the rest of her life to save her own skin. Life isn't worth living without the ones she loves and she's not sure what to do if they're all gone. Her father, her mother, and her brother are gone already. Dead with their bodies unrecovered. They belong in Winterfell. Sansa's heart aches at the thought of giving them proper burials and what the crypts must look like now.

  
"Besides, Cersei Lannister's blood is more wine than plasma," Brienne deadpans. Sansa laughs despite herself. They have a long way to go, but Sansa knows she hasn't been this comfortable with anyone since she left Winterfell with her father. Brienne didn't mention having anyone either. Maybe they can take care of each other, Sansa thinks, looking to the driver's seat.

They don't have to be alone anymore.


End file.
